0:00:01 > 0:00:06Tonight, the unusual goings-on on a suburban street near you.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09It's a really residential area, probably not the sort of place you'd
0:00:09 > 0:00:14expect to find a brothel.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17A former student takes on her university.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Diversity has been on the agenda in our society for a while now.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26Why are these institutions moving so slowly?
0:00:26 > 0:00:30And Bristol's Lost Boys remembered at last.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Do you know what's happening behind closed doors in your street?
0:00:47 > 0:00:50We've heard organised gangs are renting properties and using
0:00:50 > 0:00:52them as temporary brothels.
0:00:52 > 0:00:58And it's happening at an alarming rate.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01The rental market is changing.
0:01:01 > 0:01:08Short-term lets are in demand thanks to the success of sites like Airbnb.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10But they've brought a new and more sinister tenant
0:01:10 > 0:01:11into our communities.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13What sort of people were they?
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Seedy I think is probably a fair description of them.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Brothels are opening up where you least expect them.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Looking around, it looks really like a family
0:01:22 > 0:01:25area, very residential.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28They're called pop-up brothels and authorities admit
0:01:28 > 0:01:30they're on the rise.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33We are looking at around 20 to 30 a week, usually, within Swindon.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36We'll meet people involved in them.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Where did you come from?
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Paris.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Not born in the EU, I stayed in Europe and then came here.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47And the people who try and police them.
0:01:47 > 0:01:53Police, can I come in?
0:01:54 > 0:01:59So when did you first get the property here?
0:01:59 > 0:02:01We bought it in 2007.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04And then the planning permission was quite difficult to get.
0:02:04 > 0:02:05Paul Routledge is one of Weston-Super-Mare's
0:02:05 > 0:02:10biggest landlords.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12He redeveloped this church, which used to be
0:02:12 > 0:02:14All Saints and St Saviour's.
0:02:14 > 0:02:15How many flats are inside?
0:02:15 > 0:02:2013, altogether.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Paul checks the backgrounds of all his tenants, but one day
0:02:23 > 0:02:25he received a complaint about some strange goings-on in one
0:02:25 > 0:02:26of the flats downstairs.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31He decided to investigate.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35Me and my mate were sitting at these windows and one after the other
0:02:35 > 0:02:39we were just watching the people walking in.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41We couldn't believe it, we actually couldn't believe
0:02:41 > 0:02:43that there was a tenant, this well spoken gentleman
0:02:43 > 0:02:47who by all accounts was an engineer, who'd decided to run a Thai brothel
0:02:47 > 0:02:49in our vestry.
0:02:49 > 0:02:50And this is the advert.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Absolutely, yeah.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55It said, dear fellow residents, it has come to my attention that
0:02:55 > 0:03:01flat six is being used as a brothel by a young Thai girl.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03These pop-up brothels are advertised on three main websites along
0:03:03 > 0:03:09with other small ads for cars and washing machines.
0:03:09 > 0:03:16But these aren't random personal ads, they're posted by crime gangs.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18Research by the Police Foundation found that pop-up brothels are more
0:03:18 > 0:03:23likely to use trafficked women than standard brothels.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27In a study based in Bristol, it found organised crime gangs forced,
0:03:27 > 0:03:32coerced or intimidated women into providing sex in them.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35When Paul kicked his tenant out, he was threatened.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37He said, well, I'm part of the Chinese Mafia and you're
0:03:37 > 0:03:42going to have a lot of Chinese people coming round your house.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44We know where you live and all that sort of stuff.
0:03:44 > 0:03:45I just said, whatever.
0:03:45 > 0:03:51You hear these threats all the time as a landlord.
0:03:51 > 0:03:52His experience is common among the short-term letting
0:03:53 > 0:03:55agents we've spoken to.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00The reason they use short-term rentals in residential areas
0:04:00 > 0:04:02is to avoid detection, making it extremely
0:04:02 > 0:04:04difficult to police.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08These girls are in trouble, they're not under arrest...
0:04:08 > 0:04:09But officers from Wiltshire's intelligence unit are leading
0:04:09 > 0:04:13the way in trying to change that.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18And today they plan to visit some and we've been invited along.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22We leave the police station in a convoy.
0:04:22 > 0:04:28It's a chance to find out a bit more from Chris about the women involved.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30No girl ever aspires to be a sex worker.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32It's usually a really tragic set of circumstances
0:04:32 > 0:04:34which they've fallen upon.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38It is always to combat a problem.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42I'm really interested to see what it's going to be like.
0:04:42 > 0:04:43Looking around, it's a really residential area,
0:04:43 > 0:04:49probably not the sort of place you'd expect to find a brothel.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Chris' team has been told that something suspicious is happening
0:04:52 > 0:04:56in one of the flats here.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58The landlord is cooperating with the police and has asked
0:04:58 > 0:05:02that we don't identify where it is.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Chris, can you just tell us what's going on at the moment,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08who you've found inside here?
0:05:08 > 0:05:13We've got a punter who was located by the officers in bed.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14The officers are just obtaining details.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17We've got one chap and two girls.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I haven't had a chance to look around, but obviously we'll look
0:05:20 > 0:05:22to see if it is operating as a brothel.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24The English is good, which is a bonus for us,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28so we'll process everything a little bit quicker.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31How much money do you think you have sent home?
0:05:31 > 0:05:336,000 per month.
0:05:33 > 0:05:376,000 per month you are making, that's good money.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39OK.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42The police officers just said to one of the girls the reason
0:05:42 > 0:05:45they are checking on their welfare is that some girls are made to see
0:05:45 > 0:05:4820 or 30 different men over the course of a weekend.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52It's just horrible.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58The lady that's in the kitchen living room area has just told
0:05:58 > 0:06:01the police that she's got two children who are back in Brazil,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04which is obviously where she's from.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07I can't believe that they are in Brazil and she's over
0:06:07 > 0:06:10here having to do this work.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Chris calls the Home Office to check the woman's immigration status
0:06:13 > 0:06:16because she doesn't have a passport.
0:06:16 > 0:06:23Which begs the question how does she get in if she doesn't have it here?
0:06:24 > 0:06:28We get five minutes to talk to her.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Why did you come to the UK?
0:06:30 > 0:06:36Because here the money is better.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39And did you know what you would be doing when you got here for work?
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Yes, yes.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Tell me the places you have been working.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Cornwall, Somerset, Bristol, Reading.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50So you travel around.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51How often do you travel?
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Every week.
0:06:54 > 0:06:55Do you feel safe?
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Sometimes.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59Sometimes not so safe?
0:06:59 > 0:07:01No.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Tell me about your situation back in Brazil, your family.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07I've got two children.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10They live there with my family and I make money.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13They live there with my family and I make money.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15I send money back to them.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Do you miss them a lot?
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Oh, yes.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23While we're in this flat, officers receive intelligence
0:07:23 > 0:07:29that there may be another pop-up brothel operating next door.
0:07:29 > 0:07:35Hello, police, can I come in?
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Obviously there are you two girls, is there anyone else in the flat?
0:07:39 > 0:07:41No.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44How long have you lived here for?
0:07:44 > 0:07:45One year and a half.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47You've lived in this flat one year and a half?
0:07:47 > 0:07:48Yes.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Who do you rent the flat from?
0:07:50 > 0:07:53We've got two women inside here and from what I can understand
0:07:53 > 0:07:54they're from Poland.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Two police officers inside at the moment
0:07:56 > 0:07:58and they are obviously just trying to establish some more
0:07:58 > 0:08:00information from them.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03How long they've been here for, who they are working for.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Again, it looks like this is a suspected pop-up brothel.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09It turned out to be a very productive day.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12We managed to move two pop-up brothels, where girls had engaged
0:08:12 > 0:08:16in short-term rents.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18And we visited four other addresses which we subsequently found out
0:08:18 > 0:08:22were a link in terms of the girls going between the addresses.
0:08:22 > 0:08:23Nationally, the addresses can be linked.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26All the way down the M4 corridor, London, Reading, Oxford,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29through to Bristol and then down into Devon.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31We are currently monitoring between 170 and 190 women
0:08:31 > 0:08:38involved in sex work, predominantly located in Swindon.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42We will look to intervene and see if we can offer safeguarding,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44see what's behind it, see if there's organised crime
0:08:44 > 0:08:48behind it, as often as we can.
0:08:48 > 0:08:49Pop-up brothels are quite transient.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52We're looking at around 20 to 30 a week.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Do you think any of the girls had been trafficked?
0:08:55 > 0:08:57There were certainly the indicators, yes.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01The Brazilian woman we met, for example, she alluded to the fact
0:09:01 > 0:09:06that she didn't have access to her passport immediately.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09She alluded to the fact that she paid money to a third party
0:09:09 > 0:09:11to manage her profile.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14The woman we interviewed has been deported back to Brazil
0:09:14 > 0:09:19because she was found to be here illegally.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Landlords are liable to prosecution if their properties are found
0:09:22 > 0:09:25to be used as brothels.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29They can even go to jail in extreme cases.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31It's led Paul to set up a data-sharing service so people
0:09:31 > 0:09:36who rent their properties can check the history of their tenants.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39What it does is it allows landlords, when they are referencing,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42to create tenant histories.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44For other landlords, I've only got one piece
0:09:44 > 0:09:47of advice and that's reference, reference, reference.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49Pop-up brothels are the latest face of prostitution
0:09:49 > 0:09:51and they are in our neighbourhoods.
0:09:51 > 0:09:56In residential streets, where children and families live.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58The women involved are likely to be forced, coerced
0:09:58 > 0:10:04or intimidated into providing sex by ruthless crime gangs.
0:10:04 > 0:10:11But that may not be obvious.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13People expect to see girls chained to a radiator
0:10:13 > 0:10:16before we start to think about if they've been trafficked.
0:10:16 > 0:10:17That is not the case at all.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Police forces are now waking up to this reality
0:10:19 > 0:10:22but we can all do our bit.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Maybe it's time we all took more of an interest
0:10:25 > 0:10:27in who's living next door.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33University should be a place that inspires you,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36but last summer Eno Mfon left her graduation day feeling
0:10:36 > 0:10:41angry and alienated.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43In this personal journey, she's going back to Bristol
0:10:43 > 0:10:48University to challenge both its curriculum and culture.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57I'm Eno and I write and direct plays.
0:10:57 > 0:10:58I just graduated from Bristol University,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02studying English and drama.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04What really frustrated me about my course is that three years
0:11:04 > 0:11:11and not one black theatre maker, not one black critic, is mentioned.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15I studied Shakespeare, Dickens, Milton and Chaucer.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18All brilliant, but all white.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21I only studied more diverse writers on one module and that was optional,
0:11:21 > 0:11:26not a core part of the curriculum.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29So I decided to write about this lack of diversity in an Instagram
0:11:29 > 0:11:33post and it became headline news.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Talking about not having diversity for diversity's sake.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40But not everyone agrees.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43The bottom line is that there aren't a whole heap of quality black
0:11:43 > 0:11:47British contemporary plays.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49That's not to say that black British writers aren't capable,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52of course they are, they just haven't got there yet in that level
0:11:52 > 0:11:54of artistic development.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57When you look at the States, the majority of the best black plays
0:11:57 > 0:12:00that are on in London, or have been on in the last two
0:12:00 > 0:12:01years, they're always American.
0:12:01 > 0:12:02They're always American.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04I'm not saying there are no great black British plays,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07there are one or two, but I think that a lot of black
0:12:07 > 0:12:10British contemporary drama is mired in what I call the theatre
0:12:10 > 0:12:11of the ghetto.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13It is mired in a lot of black pathologies,
0:12:13 > 0:12:16about the staples of guns and drugs and council estates.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Of course we do need to read more great black writers
0:12:19 > 0:12:23and plays, absolutely.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28But we don't just need to pour scorn on the dead white guys.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30I go to Dickens not because he's a dead white guy,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33but because he's a great, timeless, universal storyteller.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35I would definitely agree with you saying you don't
0:12:35 > 0:12:38need to get rid of it, but I feel like it's
0:12:38 > 0:12:40very discouraging for me as an aspiring black writer.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45When do the voices of BME writers filter into the core?
0:12:45 > 0:12:47I think it's very dangerous to look at books and plays,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49or knowledge in general, as white knowledge
0:12:49 > 0:12:50and black knowledge.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54It's human knowledge.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57So talking to Lindsay has really fired me up.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59I want to go back to Bristol University and ask them why
0:12:59 > 0:13:02the curriculum just isn't including BME voices.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06I know that there is a great quality of work by black and Asian writers
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and it's just being ignored.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15I also noticed the lack of diversity on campus.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19Black UK nationals make up 1.5% of the student body compared to 2%
0:13:19 > 0:13:25at Bath University and 5% at UWE.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30I was the only black student on my course and often
0:13:30 > 0:13:33felt quite isolated.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36So I'm meeting a group of current students who are part
0:13:36 > 0:13:38of the Why Is My Curriculum White campaign, a national movement
0:13:38 > 0:13:43to increase diversity at university.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46I was fascinated with what you said in your post a lot
0:13:46 > 0:13:49because it is so isolating, you feel like the only one
0:13:49 > 0:13:52and nobody really understands when you talk about it.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54You can never mentally prepare yourself for something
0:13:54 > 0:13:55until you get there.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58On opening day, I was the only black person.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01You look at courses and I'd be like, there's no women here,
0:14:01 > 0:14:03we need to do stuff for women.
0:14:03 > 0:14:04They need to talk about BME issues.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07It's like there's some sort of stigma to talking
0:14:07 > 0:14:08about race and gender.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12To take up some of these points, I'm meeting a lecturer who was,
0:14:12 > 0:14:14until recently, the only non-white member of staff in
0:14:14 > 0:14:17the English department.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20I remember going to the last Why Is My Curriculum White event
0:14:20 > 0:14:24and you were on the panel.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27What really stuck out to me was there were some similarities
0:14:27 > 0:14:30in what some of the black lecturers were saying and my experience
0:14:30 > 0:14:31as a black student.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34There was this sense of an isolation.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37I was wondering if that came into your experience at all.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Yeah, hugely.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43But to me that's not a Bristol thing, that's a higher education
0:14:43 > 0:14:47thing and a specifically British higher education thing.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49I mean, particularly compared to America,
0:14:49 > 0:14:51when you look at the statistics of lecturers and professors
0:14:51 > 0:14:55from minority backgrounds.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58It's shocking in this country, particularly women.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01I think it's difficult because it's one of those things where to change
0:15:01 > 0:15:04things we need more women of colour to be going into academia,
0:15:04 > 0:15:06but to get more women of colour into academia,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09we need to have women of colour in academia to serve as mentors.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13It's a really long, slow, painful process.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18I know it's not much of a consolation, but one thing
0:15:18 > 0:15:20you can take away is having persisted through this and succeeded
0:15:20 > 0:15:24and that opens the doorway to make things a bit easier for the next
0:15:24 > 0:15:30intake of students.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33It's been reassuring to hear from Madhu that things are changing
0:15:33 > 0:15:34from her perspective.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38But what does her boss think?
0:15:38 > 0:15:41What we seem to be looking at is in the context of why
0:15:41 > 0:15:42is our curriculum white.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45We want to look at the diversity of what we teach in every single area.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Have you been to one of those meetings?
0:15:47 > 0:15:50I've not been to the meetings, but I've heard reports from people
0:15:50 > 0:15:52who have been to the meetings.
0:15:52 > 0:15:53They're really, really good.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55They're good and we are serious about this.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57One way is to say we are not going to be prescriptive,
0:15:57 > 0:16:01but another way is to look at what we do teach and make sure
0:16:01 > 0:16:03there's a good reason for what we are teaching.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05I've been talking to some of the students.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09I just wanted to show you what some of these conversations looked like.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14I think in Bristol we have this culture that is so isolating
0:16:14 > 0:16:17and it's so exclusionary to the point where you kind of have
0:16:17 > 0:16:21to learn to survive on your own.
0:16:21 > 0:16:22It's also really just psychologically violent
0:16:22 > 0:16:25to have your history consistently eliminated from the course,
0:16:25 > 0:16:32to have everything be a peripheral or elective topic
0:16:32 > 0:16:33that you have to choose.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Something like 18 black professors, black female professors,
0:16:36 > 0:16:36in the whole country.
0:16:36 > 0:16:37Something ridiculous like that.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40If you don't see people who look like you teaching you,
0:16:40 > 0:16:42you're not going to be engaged.
0:16:42 > 0:16:43There are two things going on there.
0:16:43 > 0:16:48One is to do with what we teach and who does the teaching.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50My response to that is what we are doing is diversifying
0:16:50 > 0:16:52the people doing the teaching.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Inevitably it's a gradual process.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57We're taking on young lecturers with new ideas from different
0:16:57 > 0:17:00backgrounds who teach in different ways.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04Something else is how we support students generally.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Someone there was lamenting the fact they are isolated and feel isolated
0:17:07 > 0:17:10within their whole university experience.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12That's something really troubling.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15I don't think it's exclusive to us at all, it's a sector problem,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17it's to do with the whole way the education system
0:17:17 > 0:17:18works in the UK.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22It's quite a big problem given we have 22,000 students.
0:17:22 > 0:17:23How do we do this?
0:17:23 > 0:17:26There's no quick fix, there's no quick answer.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Diversity has been on the agenda in our society for a while now.
0:17:30 > 0:17:36I'm just wondering why these institutions are moving so slowly?
0:17:36 > 0:17:38I would say that we're moving quite fast.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40And that we're gathering speed.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45It's very difficult to change things overnight.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48I would say that the possibility of doing a black studies degree
0:17:48 > 0:17:50at postgraduate level here is something that would have
0:17:50 > 0:17:57been unthinkable five years ago.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59We're thinking about it now, it will be two more
0:17:59 > 0:18:00years before it happens.
0:18:00 > 0:18:01But it's happening.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Back in the real world, things seem to be moving faster.
0:18:04 > 0:18:10I'm in London with my friend Juliet, who also studied English and drama.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12We're off to the Alfred Fagan award, an event celebrating black
0:18:12 > 0:18:15British playwrights.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17This award helps to create a community of writers that reflect
0:18:17 > 0:18:21the diversity of the times.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23Alfred Fagan was a Jamaican playwright who began his career
0:18:23 > 0:18:26in Bristol and wrote many of his best works
0:18:26 > 0:18:30while living there.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Bristol has such a connection with Alfred Fagan.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34We literally went to Bristol University for three years
0:18:34 > 0:18:42and didn't hear a single mention of him in any of our courses.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45There is a statue of Alfred Fagan in Bristol and we just didn't hear
0:18:45 > 0:18:46about him in the course.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48I think it's really important that students are aware
0:18:48 > 0:18:51that this stuff is out there, that this stuff is going
0:18:51 > 0:18:52on and conversations are being had.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55It shouldn't just be had in a minority, they should filter
0:18:55 > 0:19:02out into the main conversations.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05The winner of the Alfred Fagan award for Best New Play of 2016 is City
0:19:05 > 0:19:07is City Melodies by Lorna French.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Coming to these awards and just seeing how black voices
0:19:09 > 0:19:12are celebrated has inspired me so much to continue writing.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14And hopefully one day win an award.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18I don't just want to be on a political theatre unit,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21I don't want to be on an optional unit, I want to filter
0:19:21 > 0:19:25into the mainstream, I want to break into the core,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27I want to break into that somehow.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30And look out for a film we've got later in the series
0:19:30 > 0:19:34all about Alfred Fagan, Bristol's forgotten playwright.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41You might have walked past this.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44This memorial on Bristol's quayside is dedicated to members
0:19:44 > 0:19:48of the Merchant Navy lost at sea.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53But it turns out some names are missing.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00They are known as Bristol's Lost Boys.
0:20:00 > 0:20:0615 young lads who went off to see on merchant ships fetching vital
0:20:06 > 0:20:08supplies during the First and Second World Wars,
0:20:08 > 0:20:12never to return.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16Now, for the first time in the city, the cabin, deck and galley boys
0:20:16 > 0:20:18are to be publicly remembered at the Merchant Navy Memorial
0:20:18 > 0:20:22on the harbour-side.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32Jack Takle, at just 15, was one of the ten Bristol boys
0:20:32 > 0:20:38under 16 who lost their lives in World War II.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42His service log is the only possession his sister has of the boy
0:20:42 > 0:20:47whose one dream was to go to sea.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Jack used to go missing and it would be, where's Jack?
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Jack used to go missing and it would be, where's Jack?
0:20:53 > 0:20:58I know where he is.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00He would either be at Hot Wells or Avonmouth.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03All he was interested in was going out to sea on the ships.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Then when he was about 14, he disappeared again,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08but this time his father couldn't find him.
0:21:08 > 0:21:13They said that the ship had gone out, but I can't remember the name.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Jack was found as a stowaway.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18He worked his passage and the captain said
0:21:18 > 0:21:22he was a very good worker.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25His first official job as a cabin boy was aboard the Toronto City,
0:21:25 > 0:21:33which set off from Bristol docks to America.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37Then in September 1940, he left home to join the crew
0:21:37 > 0:21:41of the ill-fated Matina.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44When he went to join the Matina, that was the only time he ever
0:21:44 > 0:21:46waved when he left home.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50We were by the front door with my mother and he went down
0:21:50 > 0:21:58the road with my father and just turned and waved and that was it.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02The cargoes which the civilian crews of the Merchant Navy brought
0:22:02 > 0:22:11back were essential and Britain's war effort depended on them.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14The Matina was an Elderson Fyffe ship, sailing back from
0:22:14 > 0:22:16the West Indies to Liverpool, carrying 1500 tonnes of bananas,
0:22:16 > 0:22:18when it was torpedoed.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22If we look at the map...
0:22:22 > 0:22:24She actually sailed from Jamaica down here.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Beryl's son Winston has been researching the story
0:22:26 > 0:22:31of the uncle he never met.
0:22:31 > 0:22:40She was actually sunk off the coast of Rockall.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42I've sailed past Rockall and it's actually pretty
0:22:42 > 0:22:46miserable in a storm, I can assure you.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48I think she probably met her fate about here,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50about 100 miles out from Rockall.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53She met the two submarines that subsequently sent her to the bottom.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56All 67 crew on board were lost and it's been preying on Winston's
0:22:56 > 0:22:58mind that Jack and his shipmates could have been shot
0:22:58 > 0:23:06while abandoning ship.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09On some of the reports I read, it said the U-28 surfaced
0:23:09 > 0:23:10and started firing a deck gun.
0:23:10 > 0:23:1128 rounds and 15 hits.
0:23:11 > 0:23:17I think they did actually manage to get off the ship,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19we understand from the research done by the Merchant Navy Organisation.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22It does appear that the lifeboats did manage to get away.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Survivors were not machine-gunned in those days.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27It was only later in the war when an order was given that
0:23:27 > 0:23:28crew should be killed.
0:23:28 > 0:23:35That was from Adolf Hitler himself.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38We can only speculate that maybe the weather conditions were so bad
0:23:38 > 0:23:39that the lifeboats were overwhelmed.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42The only comfort you can take is they were not murdered,
0:23:42 > 0:23:44let's put it that way.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Meticulous research has also uncovered a missing piece
0:23:47 > 0:23:52of the jigsaw about Jack's first voyage when he was a stowaway.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55The name of the ship was the Temple Pier and its records
0:23:55 > 0:24:01show his father removed him, claiming he was under 14.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Which doesn't surprise me because there were a lot
0:24:04 > 0:24:08of youngsters who did try to go to sea at a very young age.
0:24:08 > 0:24:15But from all of our research, it looks as though he's probably
0:24:15 > 0:24:17the youngest Bristol boy who managed it.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20It's a very sad story because he's a very young man.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23I went to sea myself when I was 16 years of age
0:24:23 > 0:24:25and unfortunately at that age you think you're indestructible.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27And you sail with people in stormy weather and really
0:24:27 > 0:24:28ferocious conditions, which now would
0:24:28 > 0:24:35probably frighten me.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37But unfortunately this young lad didn't get the opportunity to grow
0:24:37 > 0:24:41up like so many of the youngsters.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45But you can be proud of him.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49He'd have been a good seaman, from what I can see.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53Keep his book, it's a very important document.
0:24:53 > 0:24:54You should hang onto it.
0:24:54 > 0:24:55I will do.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Be proud of him as well.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00I am.
0:25:00 > 0:25:01There was ten of us.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Jack was nine years older than me.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Jack was very good doing little jobs at home because we all
0:25:07 > 0:25:11had little jobs to do.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13And then we'd go down to the park.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17There was a stream which ran through the park and we used to go
0:25:17 > 0:25:23down there and get tiddlers.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26And bring them home and Dad used to tell us off for taking
0:25:26 > 0:25:28them out of the river.
0:25:28 > 0:25:29But we done it.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34My grandmother lived round the corner and he used to have
0:25:34 > 0:25:37to take me down because I used to sleep at my grandmother's.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41We used to sit in the sitting room and I used to have
0:25:41 > 0:25:46to read the Bible to her, or sing to her.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50Jack used to like to hear me sing.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56In November 1940, the family received terrible news.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59The Matina was reported overdue, presumed lost.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03Then the following February came the official confirmation.
0:26:03 > 0:26:09The ship was declared lost without trace.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13It wasn't the same when Jack wasn't there.
0:26:13 > 0:26:20My mother never got over it.
0:26:20 > 0:26:26No.
0:26:26 > 0:26:36She thought that one day he would come back, but he didn't.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42She lived until she was 70, but she always thought
0:26:42 > 0:26:50about Jack, all the time.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Here we are.
0:26:55 > 0:27:01Hello!
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Nice to see you, glad you made it.
0:27:04 > 0:27:12Welcome to the Nerchant Navy Museum, and you, Winston.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Beryl and Winston have now been invited to take part
0:27:15 > 0:27:18in the Lost Boys memorial ceremony and have come to have a chat
0:27:18 > 0:27:19with the organiser.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21This is the plaque that will be going on.
0:27:21 > 0:27:22First World War and Second World War.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25You can see your brother's name there at the end,
0:27:25 > 0:27:32and when he was lost, 24th October, 1940.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34There was 37,000 merchant seamen and women killed
0:27:34 > 0:27:35during the Second World War.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38And the public forgot about it.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41So this is our way, the local branch of the Merchant Navy,
0:27:41 > 0:27:48of keeping alive the spirit and the sacrifice our men made.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50We remember the Army, the Navy and Air Force,
0:27:50 > 0:27:55but they don't remember the Merchant Navy.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58This plaque dedication service is all about the young boys whose
0:27:58 > 0:27:59names will be remembered today.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04Arthur Beames, deck boy, aged 15.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Jack Takle, aged 15, whose sister is with us, as you know.
0:28:07 > 0:28:13I'm just pleased he's being remembered.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18James Long, aged 16.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23I'm very pleased that all of them have been remembered.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27It goes down in history.
0:28:27 > 0:28:33# For those in peril on the sea.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35That's it for tonight.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Don't forget to check out Facebook and Twitter for more.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40But for now, thank you for watching.
0:28:40 > 0:28:41Good night.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47On next week's programme, we reveal how one leading
0:28:47 > 0:28:54supermarket's special offers aren't always what they seem.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Hello, I'm Riz Lateef with your 90-second update.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09Overcrowded - the number of patients on wards in England have been
0:29:09 > 0:29:12at unsafe levels in nine out of ten hospitals this winter.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14That's according to BBC analysis.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17NHS bosses said there were problems discharging frail patients.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21More controversy over President Trump's visit to the UK.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23The Speaker of the House of Commons said he didn't
0:29:23 > 0:29:25want to invite him to Parliament.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28There have been protests against the state visit.